Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Review

A change in scenery doesn’t alter the Dr. Mabuse saga, because even after his death, the villainous doctor continues his control over a scientist. And with the influence of James Bond – Ian Fleming’s character reaching cinemas a year before Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse – Mabuse turns to more radical agendas.

There’s a Nazi-era paranoia running through this German film, even decades removed from the war. Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse features a mind control device embedded in cameras, a technological update to Mabuse’s mind-altering telepathy. This gives the villains control over anyone, from a simple postman to politicians, leading to a planned overthrow of the government. It’s eerie as an idea (if not in execution on film), representing the ease with which propaganda can strangle a population’s psyche. Everyone becomes Dr. Mabuse’s pawn.

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse is awfully aware of technology and its potential effects

For 1963, Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse is awfully aware of technology and its potential effects. Multiple characters worry about techs influence and effect, realizing how effective these new devices could be in spreading hateful ideologies, turning people into drones. If only they knew of the future to come.

A new protagonist takes over for this sequel, Major Bill Tern (Peter Van Eyck). For levity, he lives with his mystery-novel-obsessed mother (Agnes Windeck), a delight in a movie that typically squanders much of its tension. Grand as the idea is, the villains never bring their numbers up to a point where they become a grand national threat; it’s a mere handful of unfortunate victims fighting the authorities. The script for Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse doesn’t develop its bit parts to a point where the deaths have an emotional toll; they’re there because of audience expectations for bodies.

By this, the fifth in the reborn Dr. Mabuse series, the energy is lost. Direction lacks a spark and feels more akin to television show of the era, and the appearance of Klaus Kinski in a supporting role is too limited to be effective early in his career. The action lacks pep, the drama lacks emotion, and the sci-fi futurism embedded in mind control devices is a better idea than storytelling angle.

Another beautiful restoration in Eureka’s box set, Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse is likely the best looking of the included movies. The sharpness is impeccable, and the detail dripping from the frame is remarkable. Even medium shots draw out facial definition, and based on the level of texture, Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse almost certainly comes from a 4K scan of the negative; it’s hard to imagine this much definition otherwise.

With grain held at bay but naturally within the image, the organic imagery is pristine. Gray scale resolves superbly. Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse looks bright, untouched by fading through the decades. Black levels hit a notable depth and remain there. Shadows give these frames their life.

While the dialog is coarser than previous Dr. Mabuse entries, it’s a minor step down. A bit of static in the background is noted too. None of this is terribly marred, just aged. PCM mono is sufficient, and the original German is preferred compared to the loud, echo-y dub.

Tim Lucas introduces the film for eight minutes and historian David Kalat provides a deeper commentary. An essay titled Kriminology explores the German Krimi genre over 30-minutes with Mabuse at the center.

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The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 37 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots grabbed directly from the Blu-ray: